Digital delivery of legal services to people on low incomes: summary and recommendations

This report provides a snapshot of developments in digital delivery of legal services in British Columbia, England, Wales, the US and the Netherlands. It discusses some of the issues digital delivery of public legal education and information (PLE) raises for governments, funders, providers and users. It builds upon findings in an earlier report co-written by the same author.

He notes that the relevance of digital approaches to people on low incomes is limited by two factors which must be considered when planning digital PLE projects:

the digital divide, which disproportionately affects people with lower incomes

“underlying all the froth about delivery is the unavoidable fact that content will remain king”

As an example, for many users a non-interactive checklist can be more effective than something with more bells and whistles.

The author also highlights best practices in thinking about digital delivery of PLE. This might, for low-income users, require strategies such as integrating online delivery of legal information into face-to-face provision.